Weasel-chan: Hello friends! I apologize for the long wait. A whole fucking year. How did that happen? I honestly don't know but I'm back and ready to finish this heartbreaker of a story! Oh, be sure to send love to Dark because she graduated college back in July/August! She's enjoying her new career :)
Anyways, please enjoy this chapter! I will try to be more constant now!
Chapter 16 – A Promise
'It happened on the last night. They announced their banishment to the mortal world to the Heavenly Army. That night stood silently and calmly in the passing of time, just like the harbinger of something ominous.'
"So, the Heavenly Army will attack at dawn. What a standard approach," Tenpou informed as he and Kenren analyzed the map on the table. "We should leave ahead of schedule, or should we…"
"Take the chance to escape during the chaos of their break in," Kenren finished for his friend.
"It's too risky," Tenpou said. "But the army probably would not send too many men so it will be easy to fool them."
"Indeed. There are only six of us," Kenren nodded his head as the two continued to form their strategy, their hostage watched in a curious fashion.
'Somehow, they are planning to leave behind all the hostages, including me, and make their escape. The operation commenced at dawn. They plan to act on their own judgement when the Heavenly Army attacks. Field Marshal Tenpou and General Kenren simulates the Heavenly Army's possible tactics over and over again for long hours.
Konzen Douji had carried the unconscious Seiten Taisei to the next room with Yuki and out of my sight. Earlier, when Seiten Taisei regained his consciousness, he should have gone completely berserk, like the time when he committed a massacre in the main court, which resulted in him being condemned but he did not. Also, it is still unknown whether Prince Nataku, who attempted suicide before his eyes, is still alive.'
In the other room, it was too quiet for anyone's tastes. Goku was sitting on the bed, holding his knees to his chest as Yuki sat next to him, silently watching over him but giving him space. Konzen was sitting across from them on the floor, keeping a careful eye on the two. The past few hours have been stressful for all three of them and it seemed like it will only get worse.
"Sleep now Goku," Konzen's voice broke the intense silence in the room. "We're leaving at dawn."
"Yes. You should sleep now so your body will last the journey dear," Yuki added, hoping the young boy will take their advice. They needed every bit of energy to make it out of this situation. Goku did not say anything. He just continued to stare at nothing, his mind somewhere else. Konzen and Yuki let out a small sigh, disappointed that the child did not answer them.
Eventually, the heretic's voice broke the torturous silence with a difficult question. "What did I do?" Goku asked, his eyes now focused but still looking at nothing in particular.
Yuki hesitated at the question. She did not want to lie to the child but she did want to bring up the whole situation. She was afraid of how Goku would react once he found out what happened in the past few hours.
"You didn't do anything," Konzen calmly responded, sensing the woman's uneasiness. "You were just out cold after you were attacked by the army."
"No, by Nataku…" Goku barely whispered. Konzen shot a glance at Yuki to tell her he was about to tell him what happened but was interrupted by the boy. "Hey! Am I evil?" Goku suddenly asked, startling Yuki a little bit. "Did Nataku do that sort of thing because I was his friend?"
"No Goku," Yuki quickly reassured with a sad look. "That was not your fault."
"Then why?!" Goku desperately questioned, looking at both of his guardians. "Why did Nataku do that?!"
The two adults stayed silent for a moment. Should they really tell him why Goku's friend did that?
"He must have really wanted freedom," Konzen eventually said with a downhearted look. "In order to sever the chains binding him, that's the way he chose."
Goku looked at the blond in confusion, not quite understanding what he was saying. Yuki watched the boy struggle, feeling helpless. How can they tell this innocent child the hardships his friend went through because of Li Touten? She just hoped that Goku would never have to go through what Nataku is going through.
"I don't get it," the heretic mumbled. "I don't get such a thing."
"Or rather, I'm envious of Nataku. For having such courage to sever his shackles with his own hands. The thing that such a young child is able to do. If it were the past me, I wouldn't be able to carry it out," Konzen said out loud, feeling guilty for realizing all the corruption just now. Maybe it would have been better if he…?
"Enough!" Yuki suddenly yelled, startling both Goku and Konzen. They stared at her with wide curious eyes, wondering why she did that. "Do not ever say that again! If you did what Nataku did, I would not know what to do with myself."
Konzen looked at the woman as she slowly poured out her feelings. She began to cry again but for a completely different reason. She was shedding tears out of anger over what he said. It tugged at his heart to see her like this.
"If you were gone, I would not be here. I would be home in my study. I would have not met either you or Goku and I would not have-," Yuki stopped herself as she was about to confess her feelings. "I would not have had the opportunity to experience such wonderful things with you two. It just would not be right if you were not here Konzen," she finished, wiping her tears away.
Konzen was about to say something, anything really, to make the woman stop crying for him. He did not want Yuki to hurt anymore. He then felt a small tug on his shirt. He looked down to see a head of brown hair, trembling a little as well from his suppressed sniffles.
"I don't want this anymore," Goku choked out, his tears falling freely now. "I don't want everyone to be gone like Chao Li and Yun Li. I won't forgive you if you do such a thing!"
Konzen's heart broke as he witnessed the two most important people in his life crying for him. It made him realize that maybe his thinking was too hasty. If he did what Nataku did, he would not be here with his group of friends right now. It would be….boring.
"Don't worry you two," Konzen said with a small smile as he pat the child's head. "I won't do that."
Goku let go of Konzen to look up at him with tearful eyes. "Really?" he asked, just to be sure his caretaker meant it. Konzen nodded his head, even giving a small smile to reassure the boy. Goku turned around to face the woman, walking up to her still sitting on the bed. "Yuki. You won't do that, right?"
Yuki was surprised by the intensity in the child's eyes but knew the reasoning why. He didn't want to lose another close friend. Yuki smiled brightly at the boy before saying, "Of course not my dear. I will be by your side for however long I live."
Goku's intense stare broke into a joyful smile hearing those words. He suddenly embraced the woman in a tight hug, already feeling a million times better. Yuki returned the hug with equal force, feeling tears welling up again but refused to let them fall.
Konzen allowed them to have their moment until he remembered the other thing Goku said. He stood up, causing the other two to look in his direction. "Hey, why don't we ask them as well?" he asked with a knowing look.
"The cherry blossoms are also beautiful tonight," Tenpou's voice bounced off in the near empty room. It was stripped from any resources that Kenren could use to barricade the building. It only had a huge red carpet and a random chair. The only thing about this room is that it had a perfect view of the cherry blossom tree outside. It was also a great place to smoke a cigarette.
"It blossoms just like any other day," Kenren scoffs with a puff of cigarette smoke.
Tenpou thought about what his friend said and had to admit he was sort of right. "Hm, maybe it suits the moment I view it," he mused.
"I feel the same," Kenren said with a bored look. He immediately perked up when he thought of something. "You know who is beautiful though?"
Tenpou cracked a small smile at the question, already knowing the answer. He decided to let his friend say it. "Who?"
Before Kenren could answer, the door opened slowly which made the two men stop their conversation to see who it was. They were surprised to see their admiral standing there, a faint blush on her cheeks. Her jacket was tied around her waist so her wounds could get proper air. She had a small bandage wrapped on her right bicep from where 'Goku' hit her and another small band aid on her forehead. The men were ecstatic to see her out but held it in so they wouldn't scare her away.
"Well, speak of the devil, princess lives," Kenren broke the silence, his small smile showing he was relieved to see her. "I thought we ran you off."
"Pfft, you wish," Amaya weakly replied, shuffling her feet a little in nervousness.
The men noticed it and were curious about the woman's behavior. "What's wrong Amaya?" Tenpou asked in a worried tone.
"Yeah. Do you gotta take a piss?" Kenren ruined it with his own question. "Because you came to the wrong room sweetheart. I cleared it out."
Tenpou let out a defeated sigh at his friend's words. "General…" he grumbled out. They were trying to coax her back to them. Not piss her off to the point she wants nothing to do with them.
"I do not need to use the bathroom idiot!" Amaya weakly argued, glaring at the man who was poking her buttons. "Why-?"
"Well, stop fidgeting like you have to and get your ass over here. You know we don't bite," Kenren interrupted the woman before she could say anything else. Tenpou watched the woman open her mouth like she was going to continue her death threats but she stopped, which surprised him. She let out a long sigh before walking over to the men, shoving them a little bit in order to fit between them.
Kenren and Tenpou took the moment of silence to finish their cigarettes, allowing Amaya to watch the cherry blossoms flow in the wind. It was times like these that they truly cherished. They could just bask in each other's company and everything seemed like it was great. They just needed the rest of their ants to be there and it would be absolute bliss.
"Hey, do you two remember the days we met?" Tenpou asked out of the blue, his expression blank like usual. The two underlings gave their friend a side glance, not really sure where he was going with this question but decided to just go with it. "To be honest, I don't remember much about either experiences," the Marshal added with a scratch to the back of his neck.
Amaya let out a small groan, debating whether her superior had a few screws knocked loose or was just stupid. Kenren chuckled at the question, not too surprised his friend did not recall the times they met. It would take a miracle for the man to remember what he did a few hours ago. "Well, when we met, you nearly killed me with your hoarding problem," Kenren tried to refresh his friend's memory.
"And when we met, I punched Bigfoot here," Amaya put in her word with a smirk. "Best moment of my life."
"Yeah, I still need to get you back for that shrimp," Kenren said with an annoyed look. He definitely remembered that punch to the face like it was yesterday.
"Hahaha! You also had a bruise from that!" Tenpou laughed as he recalled the moment. "You were worried that the ladies wouldn't look at you."
"I needed to keep my handsome face in perfect shape. I couldn't pick up chicks if I had a black eye or a bruised face," Kenren argued. Amaya huffed a little at the comment. The General noticed, thinking she was upset over him boasting about his looks again and decided to change the subject. "Oh, remember when we had that secret barbecue party? That was a blast!"
Amaya perked up at the mention of the party but kept quiet since it made her think of her bodyguard. That was when they had their bet going on and kept to themselves most of the time. "Ah, that's right. I didn't think you would make me treat everyone. Weren't there 16 of us in all? Not to mention you ate enough for 3. There's no way I can claim the restaurant bill as entertainment expenses," Tenpou rambled, his expression going from amused to irritated. "Ahhhhh, that pisses me off now that I think about it."
"Oi, then what's your point?" Kenren asked, feeling his friend's annoyance quite clearly. Amaya just snickered at how Kenren basically set himself up for a lecture.
Tenpou looked up, like he was thinking really hard about what he was going to say, then turned to his friend with a blank expression and said, "What was it again? I lost my train of thought."
Both underlings dropped their head in defeat. Their Marshal was truly hopeless. "You are really impossible to read," Kenren grumbled.
"What was that General? I couldn't hear you," Tenpou said with a hidden smirk.
Kenren glared at his friend and raised his voice a bit louder to say, "I said you-!"
"Enough!" Amaya's voice pierced through the pointless argument about to ensue. "It doesn't matter what Tenpou meant to say. As long as we have it in our memories, we will be alright."
The men looked at the woman in astonishment. It was rare for her to say something like that so it always surprised them when she opened up like this. It reminded them that they truly did earn an amazing friend that day.
"Is that so, princess?" Kenren asked with a hint of smugness. He could already feel a punch coming his way after he said that.
Amaya did just what he expected, punching the man on the shoulder. "Shut up. Way to ruin the moment idiot," she grumbled, trying to hide her faint blush on her cheeks. Tenpou chuckled at the two, his mind relaxing. They always had that effect on him even on the direst of times and now was no exception.
The officer's moment was interrupted when they heard the door open. They turned around to see who was there and was surprised to see the small family standing there. Konzen and Yuki stood behind Goku, the woman having a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder as Goku rubbed his eyes.
"Goku?" Kenren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Is everything alright?" Tenpou asked the adults, thinking something else happened that needed their attention.
Goku looked up at the officers, his eyes taking in their condition. Kenren and Tenpou had a few bandages on their faces but nothing serious. He then looked at the woman between the men and immediately felt guilty. "Aya-nee, are you ok?" Goku asks in worry. He did not know she was this hurt.
Amaya tenses up at the question, looking at her sister for some kind of answer. Yuki just gave her a sad look, unable to give her a proper answer. She even tried the blond but he refused to look at her. Amaya did not know how much the boy knew or if he even knew he was the one that did this to her. She did not want to tread on thin ice and break it, causing some sort of argument.
Goku noticed the sudden awkwardness in the room. What was going on? "Aya-nee, did something bad happen?" he asked, his eyes looking at the woman in hopes she would tell him.
Goku felt Yuki's hand tighten on his shoulder after his question. His heart began to beat faster, his mind racing at the possibility he really did hurt his friend. He tore his gaze from the woman when the two men next to her took a step closer, almost like they were protecting her from him. His heart began to break as he no longer could read the officer's faces. Did his friends hate him now?
Goku built up enough courage to ask the question he did not want the answer to. "W-Was I the one that hurt you, Aya-nee?" he asked, his voice small but still felt so loud in the silent room.
The suffocating silence continued to linger in the room. Nobody dared to move or speak, unable to in the presence of the boy. How could they openly admit that it was Goku who did this?
"Goku, you-," Yuki began to speak for her child but was interrupted by her sibling.
"Yuki," Amaya curtly says, giving her sister a sharp look to silence her. The Admiral could feel everyone's eyes on her, waiting for response like it was the last drink of water. She lets out a small sigh as she kneels in front of the child who looks so broken. "Goku, listen to me. That wasn't you out there."
"But," Goku began to argue but stopped when he saw the woman's glare harden.
"That wasn't the Goku who I will make a red bean cake for. That wasn't the Goku I will play baseball with on a nice sunny day. The Goku that will help me annoy Konzen or help me keep these two idiots in line. None of those things," Amaya reassures with a small smile. "So please, stop beating yourself up over this."
Goku couldn't say a word, his throat closing from another set of tears. This time his tears are from happiness and relief that his friend did not hate him. His heart felt lighter with every word the woman told him.
"I will always be there to protect you, Goku. Never forget that," Amaya finished with a determined look. She nearly fell to the ground with how much force she was hit with as the boy hugged her tightly, his sniffles echoing in the room. "Thank you Aya-nee," Goku chokes out as his tears hit the woman's heart.
Amaya returned the hug, her mind at ease now that the boy felt better. "Of course. What kind of Aunt would I be if I couldn't protect you?"
"Aunt?" Goku asked as he let go of the woman to give her a confused look.
"Yeah. I'm the Aunt, these two behind me are the Uncles, and Konzen and Yuki are mama and papa," Amaya explained with a smirk, feeling everyone's glare pointed right at her.
"Hey! I am not that old!" Kenren argued as Tenpou laughs at the situation their admiral created. She always knew how to stir things up back to tempo.
"Pfft~ Do I have to tell everyone here what your true age is?" Amaya teases.
"Don't you dare princess," the general grumbled out.
Goku, however, was not listening to the officer's bickering. He was more interested with the two adults behind him. He looked behind him and saw both a little red in the face. Just like when they went out that night. They couldn't even look at each other at this point.
"So, Yuki is mama?" Goku asked out loud.
Yuki squeaked at the question, her face growing in redness. She felt like it was going to burst at how flustered she was. "W-W-Well, you do not have to call me that Goku," she stuttered out, trying to keep herself composed.
"But you should Goku," Amaya pressured with a half smirk/smile. "It would make her really happy."
"Aya!" Yuki whined, wanting desperately to silence her sister from these embarrassing words.
Goku didn't have to be told twice. Whatever made the woman happy, he was ok with because she always made him happy. She should be happy all the time. He turned towards the woman again and grabbed her hand to let her look at him.
"Yuki, is it ok if I call you mama?" the child asked with hopeful, golden eyes.
Yuki felt her heart stop for a moment at the question. She loved the child like he was her own so for him to call her this, it made her extremely happy to the point she felt tears poke at her eyes. It also seemed like the boy wanted this as well so maybe it was ok to allow this?
Yuki kneeled to face the child and held onto both of his hands. "I would love for you to call me mama but only if you want to Goku," Yuki said, staring into the boy's eyes to search for any signs of discomfort. That was the last thing she wanted the child to feel.
Goku smiled brightly at the woman and said, "Thank you mama."
Yuki felt like her whole world shifted at those words. She didn't know what she wanted to do. She wanted to cry as she screamed out in joy, but she didn't. Instead, she pulled the boy into a tight hug, hoping he could understand just how much his words meant to her.
Goku returned the hug, reading all the woman's unspoken words like she was speaking out loud. He let go of his guardian and looked at everyone in the room, taking in everything in this moment. He was suddenly hit with a powerful feeling that he couldn't really explain.
"Goku, what's wrong?" Kenren asked as he saw the boy's face crunch together in confusion.
"Please don't go away," Goku revealed after a moment more of thinking. "Don't disappear before my eyes just like Nataku."
That struck everyone in the heart.
"I don't mind where I have to go as long as I'm with everyone. I want to be together with you all forever. I love you all a lot so, stay with me always, ok?" Goku finished, staring right at the admiral knowing through her, the other two will get his message.
Amaya was stunned with the child's words. She honestly didn't know what to say even though she wanted to say a million things to the boy in front of her. She wanted to reassure him that they weren't going anywhere, that her promise still stood true. But all her words were caught in her throat.
Just as she was about to say something, a hand on her shoulder startled her, almost knocking her forward but caught herself before she did. "Alright! Goku, stick out your pinky. You too princess," Kenren encouraged both of his friends with a goofy smile.
Amaya and Goku stared at the man in confusion. What was going through the General's mind that he wanted their pinky out? "The hell are you going on about Kenren? Why do you need us to- Wait! Let go of me!"
"You ask too many questions sweetheart. Just trust me on this!" Kenren says casually as he grabs the woman's wrist to hold it out for Goku. "Alright, now it's Goku's turn."
Goku continued to stare at the two soldiers in confusion. He might have taken too long because Konzen grabbed his wrist and did what Kenren did to Amaya. "It will be alright," the blonde reassured. Goku's confusion raised a little when he felt Amaya's pinky wrap around his, but he didn't pull away. He stared at the woman's red eyes in curiosity, patiently waiting for an explanation as to what was going on.
"This is called a pinky swear," Kenren explained. "This is a promise sealed between all of us. With this promise, we will always stick together. Alright Goku?"
Goku looked at his pinky in wonder, his heart finally settled down from all the worry he felt. "Pinky promise," he barely says out loud, still in awe over the gesture.
Tenpou could feel his face perk up in a smile at the child's innocence and even what his friend did. He felt better after everything was settled and his new friend was no longer upset. The marshal even saw how much tension left the two guardians of the boy. "Do not worry Goku. We will always be by your side," Tenpou added his own thoughts into the mix which just brought more smiles in the room.
As the atmosphere calmed down once more, the group of friends thought about their situation. Luckily, Tenpou and Kenren came up with a plan as the others dealt with their own issues. Tenpou explained what will be going on as they left Heaven, everyone paying close attention to what he said.
"Henceforth," Tenpou finished, "we'll be heading to the mortal world. Depending on the situation, we might have to act separately. But even if that happens, let's meet under the cherry blossoms in the mortal world for sure next time."
And that was the last dawn…